Saturday, September 15, 2007

I traveled to Brussels, Belgium to attend a conference. It was a quick trip but I certainly made good use of my time. I presented a poster that earned an award for being the distinguished poster at the conference. I saw the sites (not much to see in Brussels), had amazing food (must try the mussels in Brussels), drank delicious beer (mmm, raspberry beer!), and even played some blackjack at a casino!

Monday, September 3, 2007

Mike, Kristin, and I spent Labor Day scrambling at Calico Basin, one of my favorite hiking spots. It was a beautiful day. The last picture of the bee won me first prize in my hiking group's photo contest - I got free Jimmy Buffett tickets!

Saturday, September 1, 2007

Rick, his girlfriend Loren, and I went to Gold Strike Hot Springs for a day of scrambling. I had done this hike with Joe in January, and it was quite the challenge. It follows a creek down to the Colorado River, and much of the hike involves climbing over boulders using ropes. This time, the hike was much easier for me, I assume because I am in better shape and because I have a lot more experience scrambling now.

Within minutes, I had already injured myself. The rocks in this area are very sharp. I lost my balance while standing on a rock about 6 inches off the ground, and it cut my hand when I braced myself falling. This is not a good sign considering the boulders that I would be climbing down later in the hike are 10+ feet off the ground!